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If there is no noise when the belt is off, the noise is clearly coming from something being driven by the belt. Obvious culprit for the rumbling sound would be the alternator - bearings do go, but 45k is a bit low (mine is 96k) . Try removing the belt and then - with the engine OFF - reach in and spin the pulley on the alternator. If it's silent, everything's good there. If it's noisy, you have your answer. I had a new alternator fitted last week to my 2006 1.8 TDCi, cost £264 including labour & vat from a local garage (not a Ford dealer). Could have bought a part for £160-ish from Euro Car Parts, but fitting it is another matter - the mechanic said he had to take other bits off to get access, and I'm not that confident.

Sorted! As suspected, the Torx bolt moves an internal bracket that latches onto the small plastic piece. However it's a left handed thread, so you have to careful. The bracket wasn't in the right place, so it had to be adjusted twice : once to align the slots so that the trim would slide in place properly, and then adjusted to lock it into place. Everything is now in place and fully secure. Thanks for the advice chaps :-)

Thanks Steads. So is the screw you mention the one I can see when I remove the little black cover above the door lock? If so I think I can access it purely through that aperture, without needing to remove the inner panel. Then I just need a Torx screwdriver, which I can get from Halfords. Or is there another screw? Or screws?

I don't want to risk taking the inner door panel off without the right tools, as I may damage something. I have no tools with me aside from a Leatherman and a torque wrench for the wheelnuts. I will tape up the holes in the door (to prevent water getting in, and ring the guy who did the repair. I'll get him to admit that he took the handle off to do the paint, then explain that he didn't refit it properly - and that he must put it right at his cost. He won't be happy but neither am I, and I paid him to do the job (and have got paperwork for it) The door is secure when locked so I'm not worried about that, just want it fixing. If it was a simple job to do myself if be happy to do it, but from what you both say I'm going to make him do it / pay for a proper fix Thanks for the replies guys :-)

Help - my door handle has fallen off! A few weeks ago we brushed the car against a gate post, causing damage to the drivers-side rear wheelarch. The rear door handle also brushed the gate post, and the surrounding metal was pushed in - but pretty much popped back out again. Last week it was repaired by a friend of a friend, who has started his own repair business. All fine and dandy, until last night when Mrs Pitmonster tried to open the rear-offside door (the one that was repaired) and the handle came clean off in her hand! The car was unlocked, and she isn't that strong... The door handle was obviously removed while the repair was painted, and now it's looks like it wasn't reinstalled properly. However when I inspected it after the repair everything seemed fine - and I used the handle multiple times to open the door. The problem is that I'm currently camping in Dorset, 4 hours from home, so going back for him to fix it isn't an option for the next 10 days or so. Also I have no computer access to post photos (this is being sent from my iPhone) So it looks like I need to find a fix myself, and hopefully a permanent one. The handle is in two parts: - the large handle that you pull - the small bit that stays in place (where the lock sits on the drivers door Both parts have fallen off, along with the 2 rubber gaskets. I can refit the main handle, and have it engage with the mechanism properly so that it opens the door. However the small piece is needed to hold the main handle in place - and I can't make this small piece stay in place. The plastic moulding has little clips at the rear etc, but no matter how hard I press I cannot get them to engage with the clips inside the door. There are no obvious screws or bolts etc that I can see. However when I look inside I can see a small bolt-thread that runs to the rear edge of the door. If you open the door, above the lock mechanism is a small black cover, shaped like a big Tic Tac. I have taken this off and had a look, and there's a small Torx head that seems to be connected to the bolt-thread that I can see, but there's no obvious way to see how (or if) this actually fixes the plastic bit-of-handle in place. Also I don't have a Torx bit with me! Does anyone know how this piece of handle is fixed in place? I've searched the forums with no joy, and I don't have a Haynes manual. Any advice would be gratefully appreciated. Thanks.

To clarify : when my mate got pulled and fined, it was perfect visibility. While I appreciate that the "100 meters" visibility is a fine line that can be debated when it's foggy or misty or whatever, this did not apply in his case because there was no fog or mist at all - it was perfectly clear and there was no justification to use them.

Finally got the job done, at a local independent garage (he's the cousin of my best mate). I agreed to change the whole front lower wishbones, because although the part is more expensive it makes the labour cheaper, and ultimately is a more thorough job. Each wishbone was £44 each. He also did the rear bushes without removing the subframe. No idea how, but the whole job front and rear only took 3 hrs. The total price including parts, labour and VAT was £232 which around 1/3 the price Ford wanted. There may be a bit of "mates rates" in that, but I am a happy bunny indeed. The car feels so much better now, and the constant jitter over small bumps has gone completely. I was also getting a squeak from the front-left over bumps, and that's gone too. The whole ride and steering have been improved massively. Tomorrow I'm taking the car for 4-wheel laser alignment, so everything should be sorted.

Using fog lights in the daytime - or when it's not foggy - will *ahem* change the way other drivers percieve you... in a bad way, if you know what I mean ;-) * Also, fogs dazzle oncoming drivers, because they are designed for low-visibility conditions and are higher intensity than normal lights. Modifying your fog lights can also be an MOT failure. Finally - and most importantly - it will also get you a fixed penalty notice, which means 3 points and a £60 fine. Happened to a mate of mine a couple of years ago. So please don't use your front fogs like this, or modify them in any way. If you want DRLs then buy & fit some proper ones. The £60 fine you avoid will easily pay for a good set. Sorry if I sound like an ar5e, but its something I feel strongly about. * if you didn't get the subtle hint, it means that other drivers will call you very bad names, no matter how good you think it looks.

I had new discs & pads fitted at the front and rear not that long ago, so I can be pretty confident my vibration isn't caused by warped discs.While this vibration under braking is a symptom of warped discs, its not guaranteed that it's the cause, and because you have a vibration at speed also its worth getting someone to check the bushes - especially before you pay out for new discs which may not actually be necessary.

On another thread somebody mentioned that its possible to do the rear bushes without dropping the rear subframe, although many people do drop the frame. I can only assume the mechanic I'm using can do the job without dropping the frame. I trust him to do the job properly, and I think he's doing 'mates rates' because I know him well (one of my best mates is his cousin)

I also have a wheel wobble exactly as you describe, plus under hard braking. At my recent service it was noted that both lower arm bushes were perished (note that these are not the same as track rod ends), and the work is being done next week. * Perhaps this is what your problem is? Maybe worth checking if your wheel also wobbles under hard braking, like mine? Also a point to note is that the wheel balancing machine at your tyre place may be out of calibration. Last time I got tyres fitted & balanced I had a wobble, I went back and their machine had been serviced and was 5 grams out - so they rebalanced my wheels for free. Finally check for a buckled wheel, tracking, worn springs & shocks etc * the work I'm having done is : Both front lower wishbones replaced Both rear trailing arm bushes replaced (unrelated to the steering issue, but need doing) I've been quoted £230 at a local independent garage, to include parts + labour + vat. Having the front wishbones replaced as a unit is cheaper on labour, and this offsets the higher part cost.